Stand the bowl on a dishcloth. Beat the egg
whites just until bubbles form. Add the lemon
juice.
Beat vigorously on high speed while turning
the bowl with your one hand.
When the whites form peaks and the points
of the peaks stand up and just fold over when
you lift the beaters, you can start adding the
castor sugar tablespoon by tablespoon.
Do not add the sugar
too soon. Wait until the
whites are really stiffly
beaten.
Continue beating and adding the sugar slowly
until the mixture becomes very thick, heavy
and shiny.
Make sure all the sugar
is dissolved or the meringues will weep sugar
tears when they are
baked. We use caster
sugar because the crystals are smaller.
Test a little of the mixture by rubbing it between two fingers. If you can feel sugar granules you still need to beat a little longer.
Beat in the boiling water. Sift the cornflour
over and fold it in by hand with a spatula.
Glue the corners of the paper to the pan with
a little of the meringue mixture. Spoon the
meringue into the centre of the circle on the
baking paper. Spread the meringue mixture to
fill the circle and then shape it with the back
of a spoon to form a 'nest', hollow in the middle and high around the sides. Lift the sides
up with a pallet knife, from the base to form
the 'wavy' lines on the outside.
Bake for 20 minutes at 140°C, then turn the
oven to 100°C, bake for another 1½ hours.
Switch off the oven and leave the Pavlova in
the oven with the door closed to cool down
completely.
Ina's Tip: What to do with egg yolks?
• Add one or two when next you make scrambled egg or omelette
• Add one to hot mashed potato for a really
creamy texture
• Make Mayonnaise in your food processor
Watch points:
Shape and bake the pavlova immediately, it
will start to deflate and draw water as soon as
you stop beating.
Baking meringue mixtures are actually more a
process of drying them out. So the rule is a
low oven temperature for a lo ng time.
Home-made pavlova will turn an ivory or pale
champagne colour. The slight caramelisation
of the sugar increases the flavour.
Cheesecake filling
Measure the water into a medium size mixing
bowl. Sprinkle the Cheesecake Mix over and
beat until well blended.
In a smaller mixing bowl, whip the cream until
just firm. Using the same beaters, whip the
cheesecake mixture for 1 minute until
smooth. Gently fold the whipped cream into
the Cheesecake Mixture using a spatula or
metal spoon and stir until evenly blended.
Keep the mixture covered in the fridge.
Fruit
Rinse the strawberries before removing the
green stalks and cut them in half or into quarter wedges if very big. Refrigerate in a closed
container in the vegetable drawer where they
won't get too cold. Scoop out the granadilla
pulp and refrigerate. Toss with strawberries
just before serving.
To assemble
Fill the pavlova with cheesecake mixture, top
with fruit and serve.